Using a VPN service should not be an obstacle to effectively enforcing mandatory age verification control, just as those recently implemented in the UK.
This is the answer from the Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) to the increase in the VPN demand in the UK since the new rules came into play. The wave has also raised the question of whether VPN tools would make the implementation of the online security law ineffective.
According to AVPA, the digital services to remain compatible actively detect VPN use and allow users to either prove their age or their real location.
“No need to once consider prohibiting VPNs”
“Some claim that because VPNs exist, any age security system will fail. This leads to the wrong belief that age -limited places are exempt from observance if users connect through a VPN. As we have claimed before, this is not true,” Avpa wrote in a Blog posts.
AVPA suggests that when the VPN traffic is discovered, tech providers must look at behavioral clues to assess whether the user is a British-based minor or an adult using VPN for privacy. If they have reason to believe that this may be a minor based in the UK, they should offer a choice to either verify their age or consent to disposable geolocation.
That said, the most reliable services are implementing to unblock streaming platforms or censored content of all veiling technologies to mask the fact that people use these services.
All in all, “There are ways to detect and tackle bypass, and there is no need to consider banning VPNs directly,” Avpa experts said.
Digital services that use AGE Assurance to remain compatible can do so by registering VPN use, assessing risk using behavioral traces and allowing selected users to verify their age or prove their location. @Peterkyle @feryalclark @ofcom pic.twitter.com/lpbimivkvuAugust 10, 2025
Avpa recommendations came after a debate that was started in the UK about whether the authorities could ban VPNs to ensure full compliance with the Online Security Act.
However, the British State Secretary of Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, has insisted that there are no such plans, despite the government looking “very close” to how VPNs are used.
This adds what Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) explained when discussing privacy risks of US age verification legislation.
As the EFF experts pointed out, your IP address is not the only method online services use to track your location. Providers can also use GPS tracking, webcookies, mobile ad -ids, tracking pixels or fingerprints of devices, making the use of VPNs far less effective.
What’s behind UK VPN Surge?
While both of these skills can help you increase your online privacy and security by minimizing the data tracks you are leaving around the Internet, IP-Spoofing may also make you look like you’re reviewing from a completely different country.
Proton VPN recorded an hourly increase of over 1,400% starting from midnight on the day, mandatory age verification was enforced. Adguard VPN also confirmed to Techradar that sign -ups grew by 2.5 times in just a few days. Data from Top10VPN shows a continuous increase in VPN demand of almost 2,000% since July 25.
Whether minors who want to avoid age control are behind these numbers, or it is adults who are concerned about their privacy is impossible to know.
What is certain, however, is that the new rules have attracted a strong setback so far among technologists, politicians and everyday users who are concerned about the negative impact that age control can have on their privacy, security, freedom of expression and access to information.
The British regulator, Ofcom, is nonetheless strong, which suggests against VPN use to bypass age control and argue that it will be illegal for platforms to encourage this – reported the BBC.
If you are concerned about sharing your most sensitive data to access content online, I only recommend downloading reliable services to protect yourself. At the time of writing, NordVPN Techradar is the top election. While you don’t want to pay for a subscription, Proton VPN and Privado VPN are the best free VPN apps you can get.
